1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the integration of over-the-air broadcasting of mobile digital television signals with user video and audio display devices. More particularly it relates to a portable headset or headphones, which counter intuitively receive off air audio and video broadcasts, and provide the interface for reception of such over-the-air television and media signals, which are communicated to a smartphone or computer or tablet in a format employable by the attached device and video display. The device thus provides earphones engageable to any handheld or other device having an audio output and concurrently provides audio and video signals from local RF broadcasts, to an engaged device in a digital formats playable by the attached device.
2. Prior Art
Portable communication devices such as headphones, headsets, and other head-worn sound reproduction devices in past years employed a cable, and more modernly employ a wireless communication from a BLUETOOTH enabled audio player to receive close range RF signals and provide sound to the user communicated from the attached device itself. Such devices include radios, cellphones, a television, smart phone, or large or small computer or the like. These head worn devices conventionally have ear covering speakers, and can have microphones such as those employed for use with a cell phone. On occasion, headphones have also included small video displays, to reproduce a video feed communicated from the connected device providing all of the media signal to the headphones.
Conventionally, it is known in the art that wireless headphone devices are employed with portable or household music players, mobile phones, televisions, and personal computers and the like and employ an RF or optical signal transmitted to the headphone, from the device to which the headphone functions as a slave. In use, as noted conventional headphone devices employ a wired or wireless means to communicate with the corresponding host electronic device in order to receive the device's broadcast audio signal and then reproduce it in the headphone.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,980,165 to Yuasa et. al. teaches an integrated antenna and headphone system employing radio circuitry to receive FM radio broadcasting and which functions as its own master and slave. This invention is substantially similar to many conventional headset devices which have an antenna and radio receiver, which communicates the sound to the speakers of the headphone and eliminates the need for a host or master device.
US Pub. No. 2005/0266875A1 to Yegin et. al. teaches a headphone assembly employing a satellite radio receiver with a integrated antenna which is configured to receive satellite digital audio radio signals from the satellite, and reproduce them on the speakers of the headphone assembly itself, again teaching a solitary headset providing its own audio.
US Pub. No. 2010/0245585A1 to Fisher et. al. discloses a hands free headset receiver, which function as a GPS enabled cellphone, capable of cellular network communications using an onboard video display and audio speakers to operate as a smart phone. The Fisher device also teaches the use of the headset, in the conventional fashion, as a slave to a radio, cellphone, game, or tv, for use to reproduce single feed of audio and video signals generated by the host device, in the attached headphone.
In reference to these and other similar prior art headset devices, they operate in a conventional deployment of such head mounted sound and/or video devices in that they reproduce the single audio and video feed from a host. Such devices, for instance, include a small television transmitting sound or a mobile phone transmitting sound to the user headphones.
For example, a mobile phone is configured to receive radio signals related to a phone call or a single stream of media streaming from a wireless broadcasting tower or satellite. In turn, through wireless communication, the mobile phone will then broadcast the received single feed of audio content to the headset or headphone device to act as the slave device to reproduce the sound or video. As one could imagine, the quality of the audio or video content received by the headphone device, is directly limited by the single feed quality provided by the host device, such as the antenna, reception quality, transmitting quality, battery power, operating system, and other factors related to the mobile phone or other host device providing a signal for play by the headphone. Often the transmitted signal of the feed of the audio from the host device is accomplished in an omnidirectional manner. Not only does the headset have only a single feed signal to reproduce as a slave, the reproduction quality on the headphone, may further derogate due to the reception quality of the host signal to the headphone or headset.
Current host devices such as music players, mobile phones, televisions, and personal computers may also have limitations in the media stream available, due to the network requirements and frequency ranges they are compatible to transmit/receive. Modern mobile telecommunication includes, but is not limited to, cellular, wi-fi, and BLUETOOTH frequencies and single feed cellular broadcasts of a single source channel of individual digital television signals. Transmission and reception in all or any combination of these frequencies by a single mobile phone or other host video display device requires substantial amount of computing power and can slow or otherwise limit the host device.
Further, since conventional headphone devices are configured to receive a single feed of audio signals from a host device, should a user has multiple host devices, which broadcast and receive signals at different frequencies, the user may have to obtain separate headset devices which are specifically employable with each host. Further, because host devices are generally band-specific and provide a single feed of a network or host generated media signal, users may need a plurality of host devices to receive the type and quantity of media they wish. This can be quite costly and may also be a nuisance to the user.
Still further, most video display enabled devices employed by most users, are limited to a very narrow range of broadcast signals they receive and consequently the video they may display and audio they may provide, without hardware and antenna and software upgrades and band and frequency interface components. For instance, a smart phone cannot display the dozens of local television signals from RF over-the-air transmissions from a local stations. Instead, if a smart phone is to display a television signal, it is a single stream of data communicated over a network, using WiFi or cellular broadcasts and software to receive the single digital signal and convert it for a single channel of play. Consequently, the display of the smartphone, which may be capable of depicting one of the dozens of free local off-air television programs being broadcast concurrently, is relegated to a single media feed from a computer network in the frequencies in which the phone operates, generally at a subscription cost, as well as charges for use of the cellular system time, if done portably.
A pad or laptop computer may have a large and attractive video display, however conventional pad and laptop computers must also either be adapted to receive television signals from over-the-air broadcasts by the addition of software specific, computer specific, and cables. Thus, there is a significant cost for the hardware and software as well as a user expertise level in integrate the tuner and hardware with the single computer to which it is engaged.
The requirement for individual highly integrated hardware and software for computers, or the use of streaming single channel media over a subscription network, and especially a cellular network, renders the user's choice if they wish to receive and listen to free, over-the-air signals, both expensive and severely limited due to the choice between streaming digital single channel media or purchasing expensive equipment for each computer. Further, if the privacy and improved sound of a headphone is desired, the user still must purchase and engage the headphone to the host device providing the audio feed.
As such there is a continuing and unmet need for an improved device for reception of the multiple concurrent over-the-air broadcasts, which are available to users in most towns, and which does not require adding both equipment and software, and headphones, to receive any of the plurality of broadcast television and radio stations, and listen to them on headphones while viewing the video on the host device. To eliminate the need for and multiple cost of expensive device-specific hardware which uses hard to load and device-specific software, for each device, such a device should interface with any computing or game device having a display, and, provide both headphones to high quality audio, as well as a digital or analog audio and video stream in a common electronic format, thereby allowing use of the video display of the attached device, to provide the video. Because of the small size of most computers and Smartphones, their loudspeakers lack acoustic reproduction ability which is required for pleasurable listening of media. Consequently, in addition to providing the audio and video signals to a slave device such as a cell phone, such a device ideally would be a headset or the headphone device itself, to allow users to engage to any electronic component with at least a video input. Such allows for the communication of the video portion of the off-air broadcast to the slave device of the cell phone, smartphone, or computer, while employing the headphones for audio reproduction of high quality sound which lacks in the slave devices. Most such video display capable devices do have an auxiliary input which accept video signals in a common standard. Thus, a headphone having an off-air receiver for concurrent reception of any of the local broadcast television stations, can act as the host for both the audio and video, and communicate one or both of the audio or video for reproduction by the slave cell phone, smartphone, or pad or laptop.
In this fashion, employing the device herein, users may have headphone quality audio on any electronic device they own, which has an audio output. They can also have over-the-air broadcasts of dozens of free television channels on the same devices, without the need to buy hardware and software for each separate device. Such broadcasts may be those from commercial television stations, or from cellular based digital broadcasting stations.
In operation, the head worn device should be adapted to receive at least, the dozens of RF broadcasts of local television and radio and provide such signals to any of their slave devices. Additionally, the device herein can be configured to also receive from such sources as cellular towers, digital television broadcasts on a cellular or area-wide system, wireless modems, local WiFi or BLUETOOTH broadcasts, satellite, and other wireless transmissions, and to produce headphone quality sound for the user and communicate at least the video portion, in a useable signal, to any local available screen of a receiving device such as a TV, pad computer, laptop, mobile phone, PC, or the like.
In addition, such a head worn sound reproduction device should provide a common means to communicate the video signal, to any available video screen adapted to receive a video signal from a video signal generating device, thereby providing a common manner to receive and display such signals, and concurrently use headphones, with no cost for individualized hardware and software for each individual electronic device the user has. Still further, to eliminate excessive RF noise, and to insure even easier use and connection and an uninterrupted video signal, and hence a video display in time to match the sound generated by the head worn device, such a device should employ means for a directional signal broadcasting, to the intended video device, to insure high quality video and/or audio signal reception to the receiving video display device.